To understand whether the bats inhabiting in Korea play role as hosts harboring Hantavirus that cause acute febrile diseases, a total number of 802 bats of 9 species were collected from seven provinces in Korea from 1989 to 1995 and tested for
the
presence of antibodies to Hantavirus by means of immunofluorescent antibody (IFA)technique. The results are summarized as follow.
1. Total 802 captured bats were classified into 9 different species with the following distribution. They were Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, Eptesicus serotinus, Miniopterus sehreibersii, Vespertilio superans, Myotis mystatinus, Murina leucogaster,
Myotis
formosus, Myotis macrodactylus and Plecotus auritus with numbers and rates of 423 (52.74%), 291 (36.28%), 47 (5.86%), 28 (3.49%), 8(1.00%), 1 (0.12%) and 1 (0.12%), respectively. The predominant species of the bats was Rhinolophus ferrumequinum
with
52.74% of the captured.
2. 2. Among 9 species of bats, species of Rhinolophus ferrumequinum and Eptesicus serotinus were positive with Hantavirus antibody of strain numbers 76-118. The rate of antibody positive was 3.78%.
3. 3. The seasonal differences of Hantavirus antibody in 802 bats tested were 5.83%, 4.17%, 3.67% and 0.64% in winter, spring, summer and autumn. respectively. Again the highest viral antibody prevalence was detected in winter.
It could be concluded through the study that certain species of bats inhabiting in Korea play a definite role as the host animals of certain species of Hantavirus.
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